Ep 20. Blackout

Lou Grant season 3 episode 20, titled "Blackout," follows the staff of the Los Angeles Tribune as they face the challenges presented by a citywide power outage.

As the episode begins, the power goes out in Los Angeles, leaving the Tribune office dark and chaotic. Lou Grant, the paper's tough but fair editor, races to the newsroom to oversee coverage of the crisis. At first, the staff is energized by the challenge of reporting on such a major event. But as the hours stretch into days, they begin to feel the strain of working around the clock with little access to food, water, or reliable communication.

As the blackout continues, the Tribune team struggles to navigate the city's new normal. The phones are down, so they can't easily reach sources or check the facts of their stories. The lack of refrigeration means that they must conserve their food carefully, and tensions begin to mount as people jostle for space in the cramped newsroom.

Meanwhile, Lou begins to worry about the safety of his reporters. With no streetlights, the city is a dangerous place to be at night, especially for women. When one of the paper's reporters, a young woman named Jill, is attacked on her way home, Lou must grapple with the reality that his staff is in grave danger.

As the Tribune team forges ahead with their reporting, they come across a number of interesting stories. A hospital is forced to draw straws to determine which patients will receive life-sustaining treatment, while other patients are left to die. A woman gives birth during the blackout, attended only by her husband and a handful of strangers who step in to help. And as stores run out of batteries and candles, people begin looting to survive.

Despite these dramatic developments, the team begins to feel the weight of their reporting more acutely as the blackout wears on. They are exhausted, on edge, and facing the lingering possibility of danger at every turn. Lou understands the importance of their work—after all, the Tribune has always been committed to reporting the news no matter how difficult or dangerous—but he can't help but wonder if he's pushing his staff too far.

As the blackout finally comes to an end, the Tribune staff is left to reckon with the aftermath. They've reported on the failures of the city's infrastructure, the heroism of ordinary citizens, and the human cost of a long-term power outage. But as they file their stories, they know that their experience of the blackout will stay with them long after the lights have come back on.